Calls to ban foreign students from owning pets after dog was dumped in a Sydney street

ANIMAL lovers are calling for a ban on pet ownership by international students, after a dog was callously dumped on the side of the road.

The adorable Labrador was found in Killara, on Sydney’s upper north shore, and taken in by inner west vet Dr Sam Kovac.

“A guy who’s just finished his degree and is moving back to China and just dumped his dog in the streets of Killara,” Dr Kovac, who treated the dog for a tic infection, said in a Facebook video.

“Unfortunately in Sydney there are a lot of dogs who are adopted by international students who only spend a few years here and then go back to their countries and don’t know what to do with their dogs.”

Appealing to the Southern Cross Veterinary Clinic’s followers in the hopes of finding the unnamed pup a forever home, Dr Kovac described him as “a really lovely Lab”, adding that he was “nowhere near as big as he looks in the video”.

After the video was viewed more than 10,000 times, a new home was quickly found for the cute pooch, believed to be about four-years-old.

But Dr Kovac said the happy ending belied a bigger problem, saying the situation was “not extraordinary” and that “in fact it does happen regularly”.

He called for pet ownership and adoption to be restricted to permanent residents, arguing that “a companion animal friend is forever commitment and the relationship should be permanent, not just allow them to be treated as a toy.”

While the unnamed lab enjoyed a happy ending, not all dumped pets are so lucky.Source:Facebook

She said foreign students were known to pass around pets like pieces of sharehouse furniture when they left the country, with many eventually being put down.

“It’s an unstable life for a pet that ends up in their hands,” Ms Hart said. “They can have a very short and unfortunate life.”

But even those who love and care for their pets can face unexpected challenges in providing appropriate care.

Three years ago, the Pet Medical Crisis Fund helped a Chinese engineering student pay for a $4000 veterinary procedure for her chihuahua cross toy poodle.

After coming home to her flat to find her dog favouring his rear left leg, the student rushed the dog to the vet and was told the bone was fractured, meaning amputation or euthanasia were the only non-surgical options. The Pet Medical Crisis Fund chipped in $1000 for the procedure.

Ms Hart told news.com.au that while the student had kept the dog, her case illustrated the danger of allowing international students to own pets.

“There’s so much involved and these people come out, they might get sponsored by their parents but they’re often just sponsored on a shoestring and they don’t seem to call home to get help to save the day if that’s required.”

She said lonely students who wanted animal companionship could take in pets through foster programs.

RSPCA shelters take in more than 130,000 dumped companion animals each year, according to the organisation’s latest data from 2014-15.